Dan Stevens to play Dracula in new Universal monster movie?

Downton Abbey star Dan Stevens has revealed his next movie project!

Best known for playing Matthew Crawley in the first three seasons of ITV’s hit period drama series – until his character’s infamous demise – he’s joined the cast of a new monster movie.

While the film is currently untitled and details are being kept a secret, it’s being made by Universal Studios, home of classic horror characters like The Mummy, Frankenstein, The Invisible Man, and Dracula.

And it’s that iconic vampire character who Stevens is rumoured to be playing…

Empire reports that “there are zero plot details about the new movie, save that it’ll offer a fresh take on one of Universal’s classic creatures…”

The well-respected magazine goes on to say that “there have been rumours it’s a version Dracula’s Daughter, with the story evolving around a young girl kidnapped by a gang, whose supernatural parentage causes real problems for the criminals.”

Fresh from her role in Matilda the Musical, young Irish singer and actress Alisha Weir is tipped to play the titular daughter, with Stevens set to play her vampiric father.

Here’s a look at Weir playing Matilda in Netflix’s hit movie:

The Untitled Monster thriller comes from filmmaking team Radio Silence, who have revived the Scream franchise with two hugely successful movies in recent years.

Joining Dan Stevens and Alisha Weir in the cast is Scream star Melissa Barrera.

It’s hard to predict what tone the movie will be going for at this point, as Universal’s recent monster output has veered from the psychological thriller style of The Invisible Man in 2020 to the bonkers comedy of Nicolas Cage’s Renfield earlier this year.

As Deadline puts it, “Universal Monster films are rooted in the horror genre, with no restrictions on budget, rating or genre. They are not part of a shared interconnected universe, which allows each film to stand on its own. This new direction is filmmaker-driven, inviting innovative filmmakers with original, bold ideas for these characters to develop the stories and pitch them.”

Dan Stevens has just finished shooting Godzilla Vs. Kong: The New Empire.

His former Downton co-star Dame Maggie Smith also has a brand new movie out soon!

Set in Ireland during the 1960s, The Miracle Club follows the story of three close friends with a dream to visit the French town of Lourdes, and it’s in cinemas next month.

The complete Downton Abbey box set is available on DVD on Amazon.